By Michael Cignoli (For OzarksSportsZone.com)
The Lebanon volleyball program will spend the 2024 season in a new conference, but their schedule will look largely the same as it has in previous years.
The Ozark Conference is no more, and the Yellowjackets have made the move to the Central Ozark Conference — where they’ll see many familiar opponents.
“Definitely a big move for our entire school district,” Lebanon coach Jenny Collins said. “The COC will be one of the toughest conferences in the state for volleyball. Each conference match will bring highly competitive play.”
Four of Lebanon’s six division rivals also spent the 2023-24 school year in the Ozark Conference, so there’s some familiarity. And the Yellowjackets have been playing many of the West Division’s teams in tournaments or non-conference games for years, so they know the challenges that await.
“While it is important to be aware of the strengths and strategies of our opponents, our primary focus needs to be on us delivering our best game,” Collins said. “We need to be able to execute our strategy without getting overly distracted by what the other team is doing. By staying focused on our own performance and improving ourselves, we should be able to put forth a competitive match regardless of the competition we face.”
A big part of the reason the Yellowjackets expect to be competitive is that most of the key contributors from last season’s 19-11-1 team are returning this fall. That includes a six-player senior class, three of whom earned all-conference and all-district honors as juniors.
“It brings stability and consistency, which allows us to build on past successes and easily identify weaknesses for continued improvement work,” Collins said. “This particular group of seniors have been playing together since the fourth grade so they know the game well and know each other well and can support them through the triumphs and adversities throughout the season.”
Seniors Addy Rebmann, Morgan Durbin and Saylor Helton are the returning Yellowjackets who earned postseason honors.
Rebmann, an outside hitter, has recorded 1,136 kills in her career, including a team-best 295 during her injury-shortened junior season.
“She will need to be a continued offensive threat for our team,” Collins said. “We will look for her to bring leadership not only in her abilities offensively but defensively as well. Addy has the ability to attack effectively from all areas of the court. She takes advantage of getting the opportunity to pass out of serve receive and transitions to receive the set right back. She has really developed a strong back row attack and can be challenging for opponents to defend.”
Durbin, a setter, led the Yellowjackets with 703 assists and ranked second with 300 digs.
“She is a smart, gritty athlete who is confident in her abilities and works to deliver a ball that helps us to run a faster offense,” Collins said. “She works incredibly hard to build upon her setter/hitter relationships. She has the ability to create an element of spark that is contagious amongst her teammates.”
Helton will be entering her third year on varsity. She led the team with 49 aces and ranked second with 438 receptions and 160 kills.
“She makes smart decisions out on the court that allow her to be a factor even when she is outsized at the net,” Collins said. “She’s shown she can be an effective attacker because she has developed solid off-speed tools, uses the blocks and finds holes on the court. More impressive is her defensive play. She anticipates and reads hitters well and makes some incredibly tough defensive plays look easy.”
Seniors Rilee Jackson and Kaylee Uder will both have big roles for the Yellowjackets. Each of them played their way into the rotation following Rebmann’s injury last fall.
Jackson is an outside hitter.
“Rilee has played at both pins over the summer months,” Collins said. “She isn’t very big, but is a very explosive jumper. She is quick to the ball and has a fast arm swing. We look for her to be a factor at the net this season.”
Uder is a defensive specialist.
“Kaylee brought some defensive tenacity last season when called upon,” Collins said. “She has an even-tempered personality that brings calmness amongst her teammates. She’s athletic and comes up with big plays in crucial situations.”
Classmate Kaidynce Buttram led the Yellowjackets with 39 blocks and added 111 kills.
“Kaidynce is effective in scoring out of the middle and likes to get in for the quick tempo ball,” Collins said. “It will be important that she establishes herself in the middle early in the match to take pressure off of our pins.”
The Yellowjackets will also have a five-player junior class.
Lily Waterman will see time at outside hitter.
“She makes smart decisions and shows great ball control, being able to turn and place the ball effectively on the court,” Collins said. “Defensively she anticipates and reads hitters well and makes solid defensive plays.”
Missy Mizell, a standout swimmer, will also return to the court.
“We are excited to have her back in the program this season,” Collins said. “Missy brings a big block and will more than likely see hitter action from the middle.”
Fellow juniors Addison Dent (setter/defensive specialist), Baylyn Williams (setter/defensive specialist) and Jaylin Keller (middle hitter) will all be pushing for varsity playing time.
“They show great versatility within their play,” Collins said. “They can run an offense, make great defensive plays and find ways to score. I have no doubt that when given the opportunity, they will capitalize on it and fill the role given.”
Freshman middle hitter Liv Ahmann could also have an immediate impact.
“Liv brings a nice element of height to the net,” Collins said. “Being a freshman, she is young in experience — but has completely embraced the challenge of being thrown to the wolves not only in practice, but in summer league play. She’s athletic minded and we will look for her to help put up a big block in helping to shut down the offensive threat of some of our opponents.”
The Yellowjackets will open the regular season on August 31 at the Branson Tournament.
“Our team will be known for resilience and teamwork,” Collins said. “We never give up, we support each other no matter what and we play with passion and determination. We want to be known as a team that’s tough to compete against because we work hard together and never back down from a challenge.”
